Cops and Lawyers
by RosetheRabbit
Summary: Oneshot where Korra is a police officer and Asami is a lawyer. Korra catches Tahno stealing hair spray and Asami is his lawyer.


**Hey guys! Thought I'd try a oneshot, since I don't feel like writing any of my other stories right now. This was just for fun, so let me know what you think :) Also thought I'd point out that I have no advanced knowledge of how the justice system functions (here or in Republic City) so forgive any assumptions about how things work. My experience comes from watching Castle and NCIS. If you want to critique, to compliment, to whatever, feel free to comment. Thanks!**

Korra gasped, pain shooting through her frame as she took a hastily thrown elbow in her stomach. The criminal tore off down the street, shoes slapping on the pavement and sending the freshly fallen water droplets airborne. The young police officer was hot on the man's tail until he pulled himself over a tall, gothic fence and into a cramped courtyard.

Taking a second to inspect the fence, Korra raised her arms and felt the impurities in the metal, twisting, pulling, and with a push, she shoved the barrier at the thief's retreating form. As the missile collided, she bent the metal around him like she was rolling up a child in a carpet. He hit the soggy concrete with a yelp. Her head was throbbing and she could feel blood beading at the base of her neck, but she couldn't help the smile pulling at her lips.

"You shouldn't have put up a fight," Korra said cockily, smirking down at the prone figure. "I guess you guys aren't really known for your intelligence though." She chuckled at herself, blue eyes sparkling in the morning light. What chance did a nonbender have against the avatar?

Back at the station, Beifong was giving her a hard time.

"Did you really have to damage private property to catch this…" she sent a repulsed look in the man's general direction.

"Criminal," Korra provided, looking put out. "He was caught raiding a hair salon for some hair gel, and when I tried to arrest him, he assaulted me."

"So you wrapped him up in President Raiko's fence," the police chief asked, face stern. Korra inspected the woman's visage thoughtfully, wondering when, scratch that, _if_ she ever wore a different expression. Mako had been on the force longer then she had, but he had never seen her donning anything but a frown. And what a frown it was. Out of the population of humans on the earth, Korra could only think of a select few who had the ability to scare her. She was the avatar, after all.

"You still here, officer?" Lin's cold tone cut through Korra's thought, causing her to snap back to focus, face red. "Thanks to you, I have to go explain what happened to that prissy lawmaker Raiko now. Did you recover the hair gel the thief stole?"

"Um, no… but," Korra's face grew hotter as Lin silenced her with a look of contempt. "I caught the guy, didn't I?" she blurted out angrily.

"Yeah, and used more force than was necessary."

"He was running away!" Korra explained.

"Whatever!" the police chief boomed. "That hair gel was worth more than the fence you tore up. That idiot broke into an expensive salon. Go see if you can get anything before his representation gets here."

"Fine," Korra said sulkily, heading towards the interrogation rooms. She stopped before entering, self-consciously straightening her uniform and- wait… this could work. She loosened her uniform and stepped into the room. Maybe a more casual atmosphere would put him at ease.

"Jesus, you gave me a run for my money today," Korra started, keeping her face friendly. She flopped down in the chair across from the man and looked him over. He had a sallow, pale face that housed a thin mouth and heavy lidded eyes. Licking his lips, the man said, "I believe I get a lawyer now."

"Yeah, just give me your name and your preferred representation," Korra said, throwing in a smile for effect.

"Tahno Schlamassel. I employ Sato and Associates, and I'm not saying anything until-"

"That name's from swamp culture, isn't it?" Korra asked conversationally, inwardly cursing at the mention of the precincts least favorite defense firm. Hiroshi Sato and his crew of cutthroat lawyers were the reason half the criminal in republic city still walked free. The wealthy half at least.

"Ah, yes, my father was a swampbender… businessman that came to Republic city at the urging of Hiroshi Sato." He fixed his pale eyes on Korra and smiled, making her hair stand on end.

"Are you a waterbender then?" Korra asked, curious.

"Yes." He seemed more relaxed.

"I thought you were a nonbender earlier today. Why did you try to steal hair gel if you're a waterbender? Can't you just style using-"

Korra was unceremoniously cut off as the door swung open and a tall woman strode in. She glared at her, green eyes flashing in annoyance before saying, "You cannot force my client to talk before I arrive, Officer…" She glanced down at Korra's uniform, looking for a name.

"I'm Korra." Korra said stupidly, eyes wandering. The woman was dressed in crisp, business like clothes that sported a range of red and blacks that augmented her figure. She had curly, dark hair pulled back in a low ponytail and an angular face complete with fierce eyes that were as emotive as a block of iron. A song lyric gently resounded in Korra's head, almost making her blush… tinted windows. Tim McGraw. Lovely.

The woman pulled up a chair beside Tahno and addressed her, "Korra what?"

"I um I'm Winters. I mean, Korra Winters." She pulled a smile, hoping her face wasn't bright red.

The woman ignored her and continued, "I'm Asami Sato, Tahno's legal representative from Sato and Associates. I was told you used unnecessary force against my client, and to cover for yourself, are accusing him of assaulting an officer. Now, if you drop all of these so called charges, I won't get you fired for abusing power."

Korra's mouth fell open. She glanced nervously at the observation window, then back at Asami. She had heard horror stories of Sato lawyers from her coworkers, but nothing had prepared her for this. Opening her mouth, she tried to think of something to say, but nothing came out. Finally, she blurted, "You can't get me fired! I'm the avatar."

If the information surprised the lawyer, she didn't let it show. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and asked: "You think because you're a bender, you're better than everyone else? I want your card, now."

"What?" Korra stammered, mouth dry. This wasn't going the way she wanted it to.

"You don't need to farther convince me of your bigoted stupidity. I'll spell it out in terms you understand. You try to arrest my client for theft, but there's no proof. Where's the alleged hair gel? Then you use excessive violence to arrest him? And you want to charge him for resisting arrest when you scared him into running away? Who is the real criminal here, Officer Winters?"

Korra stared at the lawyer like a gopherdeer into headlights. She pulled her card out of her back pocket, but instead of immediately handing it over, she gazed at the little rectangle, stomach in knots. Reading her name, Korra felt the stirrings of rage heat her insides, and slowly looked up from the slip of paper. She was a cop, she was the avatar! Tahno was just a lowlife with connection.

"I didn't get slammed into a building and elbowed in the stomach by this slimeball just to be accused of unnecessary force," she roared. "He's a waterbender, if I hadn't done anything he would've got away or sent an ice spike through me!" Korra stood and pulled her collar down, showing the back of her neck to the pair. Though Korra couldn't see her, Asami almost looked concerned, eyeing the dark bruise already forming around the smattering of scabs. "That was from your little angel smashing my head into a brick wall before taking off running! And yes, I caught him because I'm the avatar and I can metalbend, but that does not make me a bigot!" Korra took a deep breath and continued, not noticing the look of amusement Asami was suppressing.

"I support feminism and abortions and gay rights- hell I even try to understand vegans! Stop stereotyping me as some extremist conservative trigger happy cop!"

Asami realized the woman before her probably wasn't going to stop ranting unless she made an interruption- and if she kept ranting Asami doubted she could stifle her smile. She hesitated another moment, enjoying the scenery, before standing and sharply intoning, "I believe I need to find another officer to process my client… You're emotionally involved."

Korra huffed out an affirmation, assuming Mako had already departed the observation room to report her outburst to Beifong. Shit. That was going to be a fun conversation.

As the lawyer walked by her, Korra felt her hand tease her pocket. She blushed, confused, and glanced towards the woman but she was already out the door, Tahno trailing after her. Carefully, Korra drew her card out of the pocket and squinted at the pen scratches adorning it. Rotating the rectangle, she realized there was a number, accented with a smiley face, scrawled below her name. Her blush deepened.


End file.
